Mathias Goeritz

Torres de Satélite,México, D. F., by Luis Barragán with Mathias Goeritz

Werner Mathias Goeritz Brunner(4 April 1915,Danzig,German Empire– 4 August 1990,Mexico City) was a Mexican painter and sculptor ofGermanorigin. After spending much of the 1940s inNorth Africaand Spain, he and his wife, photographerMarianne Gast,immigrated to Mexico in 1949.

Yellow wall at El Eco's patio

Early life and education

Mathias Goeritz was born inDanzig,German Empire(now Gdańsk, Poland) in 1915and spent his childhood inBerlin.He began studying philosophy and the history of art at Berlin's Friedrich-Wilhelm-Universität, now known as theHumboldt University of Berlin,in 1934.He received adoctorateinart historyfrom this institution in 1940.His doctoral dissertation on the nineteenth-century German painterFerdinand von Rayskiwas published asFerdinand Von Rayski und die Kunst des Neunzehnten Jahrhunderts.During the course of his studies, Goeritz also trained as an artist at theKunstgewerbe- und Handwerkerschulein Berlin-Charlottenberg (Applied arts and tradesmen's school), where he studied drawing with German artists Max Kaus andHans Orlowski.

Career

Upon completion of his doctorate, Goeritz worked at Berlin's Nationalgalerie (National Gallery), now theAlte Nationalgalerie,under the supervision of nineteenth-century art specialistPaul Ortwin Rave.

In early 1941, in the midst of theSecond World War,Goeritz left Germany, settling first inTetuan,Morocco.In 1942 he married photographerMarianne Gast,and the couple settled inGranada,Spain, just after the war ended in 1945.

In June 1946, he had his first solo exhibition at the Librería-Galería Clan inMadridunder the pseudonym "Ma-Gó".in 1947 the Goeritzs relocated to Madrid.There, Goeritz developed a close friendship with Spanish sculptorÁngel Ferrant.

El pájaro de fuego(The fire bird) by Goeritz. In Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. View from south.

In the summer of 1948, Goeritz and Ferrant traveled to visit the prehistoric paintings of theCave of Altamirain the north of Spain, along with writer Ricardo Gullón and others. At that time Goeritz proposed the founding of an Escuela de Altamira (Altamira School), an association of artists and writers who would meet annually near the Cave, in 1948. The Escuela de Altamira would ultimately hold two meetings, in 1949 and 1950.

In 1949, through the intervention of Mexican architectIgnacio Díaz Morales,Goeritz was offered a job teaching art history to the students of the newly founded the school of architecture (now part ofCUAAD,University of Guadalajara) inGuadalajara,Mexico.In 1953, he first presented his "Manifiesto de la Arquitectura Emocional" (Emotional Architecture Manifesto) at the pre-inauguration of theMuseo Experimental El EcoinMexico City,which he designed in 1952–53. During the 1950s, Goeritz also collaborated withLuis Barragánto make monumental abstract sculptures in reinforced concrete, includingEl animal del Pedregal(The Animal of the Pedregal, 1951) and theTorres de laCiudad Satélite(Towers of Satellite City, 1957).

Personal life and death

In 1942, he married photographerMarianne Gast.He died on August 4, 1990, in Mexico City.

Works and legacy

Las Torres,the main emblem of the School of High Studies (FES) Aragón of theNational Autonomous University of Mexico

Goeritz exhibited widely in Mexico and beyond throughout his life, and had a significant influence on younger Mexican artists such asHelen EscobedoandPedro Friedeberg.

• El animal del Pedregal(The Animal of Pedregal, 1951), sculpture in reinforced concrete, Jardines de Pedregal de San Ángel, Mexico City.
• Los amantes(The Lovers), sculpture at the Hotel Presidente, Acapulco.
• El bailarín(The Dancer).
• La mano divina(The Divine Hand) andLa mano codiciosa(The Covetous Hand), reliefs in the Iglesia de San Lorenzo, Mexico City.
• El Eco Museo Experimental ( "El Eco" Experimental Museum, 1953), Mexico City.
• El Pájaro Amarillo(The Yellow Bird, 1957) ColoniaJardines del Bosque,Guadalajara.
• Torres de la Ciudad Satélite(Towers of Satellite City, 1957) withLuis Barragán.
• Stained Glass windows for the cathedrals of Mexico City andCuernavaca,the churches of SantiagoTlatelolcoandAzcapotzalco,and the Maguén-David synagogue, Mexico City.
• Coordination of the sculptures of theRuta de la Amistad(Route of Friendship), a major project of the Cultural Program of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
• Osa Mayor(Ursa Major, 1968), Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City.
• Torres de Automex(Automex Towers, 1963–64), Carretera de Toluca.
• Pirámide de Mixcoac(Mixcoac Pyramid, 1971), Mexico City.
• Murals for theArco TowerinLos Angeles,California,United States, 1970.
• Corona de BambiandEspacio Escultórico(Sculpture Space, 1979),Ciudad Universitaria,UNAM,Mexico City.
• Laberinto de Jerusalén(Jerusalem Labyrinth), 1978-1980.
• Massive bronze entry door for the John Lautner-designed residence "Marbrisa", Acapulco, 1973

See also

• List of people from Danzig

Further reading

• Olivia Zúñiga,Mathias Goeritz(México, D.F.: Editorial Intercontinental, 1963), English edition published 1964
• Mathias Goeritz 1915-1990: El Eco: Bilder, Skulpturen, Modelle,ed. Christian Schneegass (Berlin: Akademie der Künste, 1992 (in German)
• Mathias Goeritz, 1915-1990: Monographie mit Werkverzeichnis(Tuduv-Studien), Elke Werry (Author) 1994 (in German)
• Conversaciones con Mathias Goeritz,Mario Monteforte Toledo (Author) 1993 (in Spanish)
• Artspawn."Biography of Mathias_Goeritz",Biographical information about Mathias_Goeritz on Artspawn.
• Jürgen Claus,Mathias Goeritz,in: "Liebe die Kunst. Eine Autobiografie in einundzwanzig Begegnungen", Kerber Verlag/ZKM, 2013,ISBN978-3-86678-788-9

External links

• Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)